Hockey's Not So Bad
by Kari Lynn Craine
Summary: They go to a hockey game. Enough said. Oneshot. Ryro, as per my specialty. PG for language.


_A/N: Just a little AU I finished. Ryro, of course, oneshot where we find Logan, Bobby, Pyro, and Rogue at a hockey game. Well, let's just say Rogue gets hungry. Enjoy!_**  
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**Hockey's Not So Bad**

They filed into their seats. Logan had gone off to get munchies for the group, since the trip up had taken well over four hours and everyone was hungry. Four hours in Cyclops's car was enough to drive even the most mentally stable clinically insane. Lucky for Rogue, she had her MP3 player and her favorite songs blared into her ears for the entire journey. She sat in the back, with John, or Pyro, while Bobby, Iceman, sat up front, doing a fairly poor job at being navigator for a short tempered guy with foot long claws that could extend from his knuckles at any given moment. Rogue didn't like the thought of Logan getting frustrated with Bobby enough to let _that_ happen, so she kept her eyes shut most of the time. The one time she did chance a peek around the car, it was to see Logan and Bobby arguing inaudibly, and Pyro bobbing his head to an unheard beat. She paused her song for a moment to see what song her flame manipulating friend was nodding to, but only heard the two arguing up front. Her brows knit together until John gave her a wounded look.

"Why'd you cut the music, Rogue?" he whined. "It was getting to the best part." He smirked at her shocked look and nodded. "Yeah, I can hear it perfectly. Now turn it back on," he goaded. "An awesome guitar solo is coming up."

"Here," she grinned, handing him one of the ear pieces. "Now we can both listen."

"Cool," he smiled. He scooted closer to her and placed the ear piece over his ear. Rogue hit play. The sounds of Nine Inch Nails pounded into their heads, drowning out their quarrelsome companions up front.

Another song began to play, but Rogue hit the skip button. Pyro raised a brow at her in question. She shook her head. "You wouldn't have liked that one," she assured him. "It's one of the few country songs I like."

"Sing it to me," he said, eyebrows rising in challenge.

"What?" Rogue was taken aback. "No," she replied, her face turning as red as a raspberry. "I can't sing."

Pyro scoffed. "Yes you can," he smirked. "I've heard you in your room when you thought no one was listening." He grinned at her stunned look. "Oh, come on, Rogue," he said. "You don't really think I'd ask you if you couldn't, do you?"

"Well…" Her voice trailed off as she averted her eyes. Her cheeks, which were normally alabaster white, were bright red, and Pyro couldn't help liking her to a flame in his mind. He sighed in his head with a bit of longing. He knew she didn't really love Bobby; if she did, she wouldn't sneer every time he tried to kiss her.

Placing a hand on her jean covered knee, he gave her a rare smile that he reserved wholly for her on special occasions. His face sobered, though, the longer she looked at him. Slowly, he leaned closer, until their lips were mere centimeters apart. Her lips parted and her eyes closed. John leaned closer until…

"Hey guys!" Iceman cheered. "We're here!"

The two broke apart quickly, the tips of Rogue's ears turning redder than a radish. "Sorry," she mumbled to John before quickly scrambling out of the car.

Pyro watched her go for a moment and sighed. Wolverine turned in his seat after Bobby had slammed his door shut and hurried after Rogue. "I wouldn't try it if I was you, hotshot," he growled. "I've already gotta protect the kid from the icicle. I don't need to keep you off her too."

"Pfft…" John snorted at the thought. "I wouldn't worry too much about that," he assured the feral mutant. "She's too blindsided by Drake." He sighed. "Just don't want him to hurt her."

Logan, who had been about to step out of the car, suddenly slammed his door shut. "What're you talkin' 'bout, 'Dyce?" He growled, his hazel eyes flicking to where Bobby and Rogue waited in line.

John shrugged. "He's my friend," he stated. "I can't say anything that could potentially get him skewered, even if it _would_ solve all my problems at the moment." He smirked before his gaze turned longingly to Rogue, whose gloved hand was in an anxious Iceman's, waiting in line to get their tickets to the game. John secretly hoped they'd be sold out and they'd have a reason to go back or find a hotel; he hated hockey anyway. But they had gone to the beach over the summer; it was only fair that Iceman get his fill of hockey over Christmas.

Logan wasn't finished with the fire manipulator, though, it seemed. His ever observant eyes flicked from Pyro to the pair outside and back again. He let out a humph before saying, "I'd have thought you cared more about letting Rogue get hurt by the way you two were looking back there. But, maybe I'm wrong," he added, knowing full well he wasn't, and stepped out of the car.

Pyro sighed. "Yeah," he muttered to himself. "So would I." He got out of the car and went to join the other three.

Of course, they hadn't been sold out, as Pyro had wished, but instead they got "excellent seats," according to Bobby. John wasn't so convinced. They were down in the first row, and the temperature in the arena was near freezing. He hugged his leather jacket closer to him, his gaze going toward Rogue who sat on the other side of Bobby. She looked just as miserable, shivering in her dark green jacket and rubbing her already gloved hands together furtively. John felt sorry for her. She was covered head to toe, including scarf, and she was still cold. Granted, he was pretty sure that was due to the fact that the arena was freezing and she was sitting next to a human popsicle. John tapped Bobby on the shoulder. "Trade me spots," he called over the roar of the cheering crowd.

Typical Bobby immediately turned suspicious. "Why?" he asked, his eyebrows knit together in accusation.

John just rolled his eyes. "If you haven't noticed, Ice Breath, your girlfriend is freezing." He nodded to the still shivering girl next to him.

Bobby turned to look at her, instantly realizing his friend was right. He put his arm around her and began to try and rub some warmth into her small body.

Rogue, however, was made more uncomfortable by this action. Bobby meant well, she knew, but his methods of trying to warm her were worse than his lack of body heat, and it froze her down to the marrow of her bones. Her teeth started to chatter a bit. "B-bobby, please switch with J-john," she begged. John had more than enough body heat to share between them.

Bobby sighed angrily and replied sharply, "Fine." He stood up and let John take his spot.

Logan returned at that point, his arms loaded down with nachos, hot dogs, and popcorn. He was also a big hockey fan. He took his seat next to Bobby, and the two began munching on the food, losing themselves in the game.

Rogue was still shivering, and John was starting to worry, though he'd never admit to that. Pretending to be too hot, he took off his leather jacket and handed it to her. "Here," he said, his eyes locked on the game. "You seem to need this more than I do." She gave him a grateful smile as she slung the jacket over her shoulders, but he chose to appear uninterested and began shouting with Bobby and Wolverine.

The warmth of John 'Pyro' Allerdyce spread through her from the jacket and she fought the urge to snuggle deeper in it. Regardless of what everyone else thought about the flamethrower, Rogue knew he was a good guy, and she loved him that much more for it. His jacket was already toasty with his extra body heat, and it succeeded in warming her. Finally, she turned her face toward the rink.

Hockey was an interesting sport in the sense that you could slam someone up against the rink, clobber them with a stick, and practically maim them with brutal shots, all without getting fouled. Still, she wasn't all that interested. She was more hungry than anything else now. To Bobby, she asked, "Would you pass the popcorn?"

Without taking his eyes from the rink and the action, Bobby handed John the popcorn, who then held it out of Rogue's reach with a smirk. "Hungry, Rogue?" he asked teasingly, shaking the bucket above her head. She reached for it, but he snatched it away before her fingers could so much as graze the bottom. He snickered. "Prove to me you want it, Roguey," he goaded. He took a handful and stuffed the buttery kernels in his mouth, still smirking.

_Nice or not,_ Rogue thought, glaring. _He's still a menace when he wants to be._ Finally, the southern girl tore a glove from her hand. "Don't tempt me, Johnny," she warned, her fingers twitching with the sudden cold. "I'm just hungry enough to do it."

Pyro's eyes flicked to her bare fingers then back to her. His eyes held fire as he gazed into her soft brown, doe-like eyes. Finally, he took her leather covered arm and brought her hand closer, whispering, "Do it. I dare you."

Eyes wide in fear that he had called her bluff, Rogue tore her arm from his grasp and looked away quickly. John let out a disappointed sigh, handing her the popcorn as she pulled the glove back over her fingers. Made timid by her fiery friend's advances, Rogue took the bucket with shaky hands, not looking at anyone or anything.

**_BANG!_** A player slammed into the rink right in front of them, startling Rogue enough to jump, sending the popcorn bucket flying. John, unlike Bobby and Wolverine, who were on their feet, protesting that the referee should do something and didn't notice a thing, saw what had happened and burst out laughing. Rogue glared at him in fury as he continued to laugh. The remains of the popcorn bucket were gone, scattered to the far reaches of the stands, and Rogue hadn't even gotten one bite. Slamming the bucket onto the ground, the Mississippi native shrugged off John's jacket and threw it at him before storming off to find something to eat, since Bobby and Logan had devoured the rest of the food.

John glanced over at Bobby and Wolverine and smirked. They wouldn't notice their absence for awhile. He got up and followed the very beautiful, very annoyed Rogue, sniggering. As he walked, he wrapped his recently returned jacket around his shoulders. Rogue was headed to the concession stand, there was no doubt.

And indeed, he was right. Rogue skulked her way to the concession stand and stood back, thoughtfully going over the menu. Soft pretzels weren't her thing, she'd had enough popcorn, and she wasn't interested in nachos or hot dogs. Her nose twitched in indecision. What to order?

"How 'bout pizza?" She didn't even have to turn to know who that snarky voice belonged to. John stood beside her, pretending to contemplate the menu as well. He was gauging his power-sucking, female friend's reactions to what she saw through the corner of his eye. "Can't go wrong with hot, cheesy pizza," he added, not referring to food.

Rogue chuckled and replied, "But you can with a snow cone, right?"

That took Pyro back a step. His head turned toward her as she smiled, still looking at the menu, but not really seeing it anymore. His hand moved to the small of her back as he murmured, "Right." Blue eyes bore into her as he continued, "There's too many flavors to choose from, all of them different in every way." She finally turned to look at him as he went on. "Not like pizza. Pizza's always got at least four things in common." He ticked them off on his fingers, his eyes still holding her gaze. "Crust, sauce, cheese, and spice."

Rogue had lost her breath the moment she locked gazes with him. Her knees quivered, and it had nothing to do with the chill that lingered in the air despite the heat of the cooking units. He took a step toward her, forcing her to take a step back, until her back was against the wall. She tried to tear her eyes away from his probing gaze, but couldn't manage so much as a blink. Finally, she stammered, "S-snow cones are all sweet."

That made Pyro pause. Keeping eye contact, he breathed, "Are you so sure about that?"

The girl gulped for the oxygen that the fire burning against her was sucking up. Nodding, she said unsure, "Y-yeah. O-of course. Bobby would never do anything to hurt me." Even as she said it, she knew it was a lie. After all, hadn't Bobby been eyeing Kitty Pryde during the last week before Christmas break? Finally, Rogue closed her eyes in defeat.

John cupped her cheek, her hair protecting him. "Like I said," he murmured softly, his lips brushing hers lightly. "You can't go wrong with pizza."

Rogue's doe eyes opened, meeting his beautiful blue orbs, and she stared at him longingly. "John," she breathed.

She didn't have to say more. His hot, lush lips covered hers, his tongue immediately darting out and caressing her bottom lip, seeking deeper access. She obliged him, opening her mouth as her arms encircled his neck, pulling him closer. This was what she had always wanted, this is what she had yearned to experience for so long. And now that she finally had it, she didn't want to let it go. But John started to feel the draining pull of her mutation. Still, he kept contact. He knew what she wanted, even if she was too ashamed to say it. He'd seen it in her eyes, every time she saw a couple kissing or holding hands, he'd seen it; and he'd be damned if he was going to be the one to break it for her.

As John's thoughts broke the floodgate and washed through her mind, she smiled, seeing how much he thought about her, how he wanted this as much as she did, powers be damned. Finally, though, when she knew his fire was burning out, she broke away. Tears misted her eyes as she held him, her arms still wrapped around his neck. When he recovered his stamina, he smiled. Not smirked, not sneered; smiled. In her ear, he whispered, "I'm like pizza, Rogue; I'll never change. Ever. I promise."

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_A/N: Okay, guys. You know the drill. Review! And tell me what you think!  
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